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He has travailed with injustice, he has conceived trouble, and brought forth iniquity. This is that offspring, which 5.345 greed indeed travailed with, but lawlessness gives birth to, and misanthropy acts as midwife. For the one who always hides his wealth and confirms by oath that he has nothing, whenever he sees someone being strangled by need, then he appears pregnant with his money-bag, then he travails with the evil offspring of avarice, showing a hope of a loan to the unfortunate one, [so that] he casts fuel on the misfortune just as one who extinguishes a flame with oil; for he did not cure the loss with the loan, but intensified it; and just as in droughts the fields spontaneously bear thorns, so also in the calamities of those in distress, the interests of the greedy run riot like a forest. Then he extends his hand with the money, like a fishing line with the hidden hook in the bait, and the wretched one, gaping at the immediate relief, also vomited up with the pull of the hook whatever hidden thing he had in store. Such are the benefactions of usury. And if someone takes away another's provisions by force or steals them secretly, he is called violent and a clothes-stealer and such things, but the one who publicizes his injustice in contracts and makes his cruelty witnessed and strengthens his 5.346 lawlessness by agreements is called a philanthropist and benefactor and savior and all the good names; and profit from pilfering is called theft, but the one who strips the debtor naked through such necessity euphemizes his cruelty with philanthropy; for thus they name the losses of the wretched. I also gathered for myself silver and gold. But for this reason the one who wisely instructs on life also enumerated these things in the catalogue of things to be spoken out, so that men, having learned from one who condemned it by experience that this is one of the things condemned for its absurdity, might guard themselves before the experience from the assault of the evil, just as it is possible to pass through places of robbers and wild beasts unharmed by learning beforehand from those who have faced danger in them. And the divine apostle well defines the passion of avarice, declaring it to be the root of all evils. For just as if a corrupt and gangrenous humor flows upon some part and an inflammation occurs in the place, it is altogether necessary for the fluid that has settled there to break out into some abscess and corruption, when the pus has eaten through the surface, so also for those into whom the 5.347 disease of love of money flows, the passion for the most part has erupted into licentiousness. For this reason he adds to the abundance of gold and silver the indecency that follows in accordance with the disease that has taken hold. For I made, he says, male and female singers, the luxuries of banquets, male and female cupbearers. The memory of the names was sufficient to expose the passion, for which the disease concerning money prepared the way. Oh, this absurd love of art! How suddenly the stream of pleasures rushes in, flooding souls as with double torrents through hearing and sight, so that the evil is both seen and heard. The song subdues the hearing, the spectacle overcomes the sight. From there the female voice, through the dissolute harmony of the songs, brings in with itself the passions to the heart; from here the spectacle, like some war-machine falling upon the eyes of one already weakened by the songs, subdues the soul. And wine becomes the general of this battle-line, like some wicked archer shooting down the man with double arrows, directing the points of pleasure against both hearing and sight; for the song becomes the arrow for hearing, and the spectacle for sight. For it is not a mere name of cupbearers, but the title certainly comes from the deed. When, therefore, 5.348 unmixed wine is poured out unsparingly for the fellow drinkers, and the service is ministered to by youth adorned for beauty, either of boys made effeminate by their dress, or of the female sex itself mingling in the banquet and pouring with the toasts the unseemly flame, to what end is it likely to come

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ὠδίνησεν ἀδικίαν, συνέλαβε πόνον καὶ ἔτεκεν ἀνομίαν. οὗτος ἐκεῖνός ἐστιν ὁ τόκος, ὃν ὠδίνησε 5.345 μὲν ἡ πλεονεξία, τίκτει δὲ ἡ ἀνομία καὶ ἡ μισανθρωπία μαιεύεται. ὁ γὰρ ἀεὶ κρύπτων τὴν εὐπορίαν καὶ ὅρκῳ τὸ μὴ ἔχειν πιστούμενος, ἐπειδὰν ἴδῃ τινὰ ἀνάγκῃ καταπνιγόμενον, τότε ἐγκύμων τῷ βαλλαντίῳ προφαίνεται, τότε τὸν πονηρὸν τῆς φιλοκερδίας ὠδίνει τόκον, ἐλπίδα τοῦ δανείσματος τῷ δυστυχοῦντι προδείκνυσιν, [ἵν'] ἐπιβάλλει ὕλην τῷ δυστυχή ματι ὥσπερ ὁ τῷ ἐλαίῳ κατασβεννύων τὴν φλόγα· οὐ γὰρ ἐθεράπευσε τῷ δανείῳ τὴν ζημίαν, ἀλλ' ἐπέτεινεν· καὶ ὥσπερ ἐν τοῖς αὐχμοῖς αὐτομάτως ἀκανθοφοροῦσιν αἱ ἄρουραι, οὕτω καὶ ἐν ταῖς συμφοραῖς τῶν στενοχωρουμένων οἱ τῶν πλεονεκτῶν ὑλομανοῦσι τόκοι. εἶτα προτείνει τὴν χεῖρα μετὰ τοῦ χρήματος, ὥσπερ ἡ ὁρμιὰ τὸ κεκρυμμένον ἄγκιστρον τῷ δελεάματι, περιχανὼν δὲ ὁ δείλαιος τῇ πρὸς τὸ παρὸν εὐπορίᾳ καὶ εἴ τι κρυπτὸν ἐν ἀποθέτοις εἶχε τῇ τοῦ ἀγκίστρου ὁλκῇ συνεξήμεσε. τοιαῦτα τὰ τῶν τόκων εὐεργετή ματα. κἂν μέν τις πρὸς βίαν ἀφέληταί τινος τὸ ἐφόδιον ἢ λαθὼν ὑποκλέψῃ, βίαιος καὶ λωποδύτης καὶ τὰ τοιαῦτα λέγεται, ὁ δὲ δημοσιεύων ἐν συμβολαίοις τὴν ἀδικίαν καὶ ἐμμάρτυρον τὴν πικρίαν ποιούμενος καὶ συνθήκαις τὴν 5.346 παρανομίαν κρατύνων φιλάνθρωπος καὶ εὐεργέτης καὶ σωτὴρ καὶ πάντα τὰ χρηστὰ τῶν ὀνομάτων προσαγορεύεται· καὶ τὸ μὲν ἐξ ὑφαιρέσεως κέρδος κλέμμα λέγεται, ὁ δὲ διὰ τῆς τοιαύτης ἀνάγκης ἀπογυμνῶν τὸν χρεώστην φιλανθρωπίᾳ τὴν πικρίαν ὑποκορίζεται· οὕτω γὰρ τὰς ζημίας τῶν δει λαίων κατονομάζουσι. Συνήγαγόν μοι καί γε ἀργύριον καί γε χρυσίον. ἀλλὰ τούτου χάριν ὁ σοφῶς παιδεύων τὸν βίον ἐν τῷ καταλόγῳ τῶν ἐξαγορευομένων καὶ ταῦτα κατηριθμήσατο, ἵνα μαθόντες οἱ ἄνθρωποι παρὰ τοῦ τῇ πείρᾳ κατεγνωκότος, ὅτι ἓν τῶν ἐπ' ἀτοπίᾳ κατεγνωσμένων τοῦτό ἐστι, φυλάξωνται πρὸ τῆς πείρας τὴν τοῦ κακοῦ προσβολήν, καθάπερ ἔστι καὶ τοὺς λῃστρικούς τε καὶ θηριώ δεις τόπους ἀπαθῶς παρελθεῖν διὰ τοῦ προμαθεῖν τοὺς ἐν τούτοις προκινδυνεύσαντας. Καλῶς δὲ ὁ θεῖος ἀπόστολος τὸ πάθος τῆς φιλαργυρίας ὁρίζεται, ῥίζαν αὐτὴν πάντων τῶν κακῶν εἶναι ἀποφηνάμενος. ὥσπερ γὰρ ἐάν τινι μέρει διεφθορὼς καὶ σηπεδονώδης ἐπιρρυῇ χυμὸς καὶ φλεγμονὴ τῷ τόπῳ ἐγγένηται, ἀνάγκη πᾶσα εἰς ἀπόστασίν τινα καὶ διαφθορὰν τὸ ἐνσκῆψαν ὑγρὸν ἀπορραγῆ ναι, διαφαγόντος τοῦ πύου τὴν ἐπιφάνειαν, οὕτως οἷς ἂν ἐνρυῇ 5.347 τῆς φιλοχρηματίας ἡ νόσος, εἰς ἀκολασίαν ὡς τὰ πολλὰ τὸ πάθος ἀπέσκηψε. διὰ τοῦτο προστίθησι τῇ περιουσίᾳ τοῦ χρυσίου τε καὶ ἀργυρίου τὴν ἀκολούθως τῷ προκατασχόντι νοσήματι ἐπακολουθοῦσαν ἀσχημοσύνην. Ἐποίησα γάρ, φησίν, ᾄδοντας καὶ ᾀδούσας, τῶν συμποσίων τὰ ἐντρυφήματα, οἰνοχόους καὶ οἰνοχόας. ἤρκεσεν ἡ μνήμη τῶν ὀνομάτων στηλιτεῦσαι τὸ πάθος, ὅπερ ἡ περὶ τὰ χρήματα νόσος προωδοποίησεν. ὢ τῆς ἀτόπου ταύτης φιλοτεχνίας! ὡς ἀθρόον ἐπιβάλλει τῶν ἡδονῶν τὸ ῥεῦμα, οἷόν τισι χειμάρροις διπλοῖς δι' ἀκοῆς τε καὶ ὄψεως τὰς ψυχὰς ἐπικλύζον, ἵνα καὶ βλέπηται τὸ κακὸν καὶ ἀκούηται. ἡ ᾠδὴ τὴν ἀκοὴν καταστρέ φεται, ἡ ὄψις τὴν ὄψιν καταγωνίζεται. ἐκεῖθεν ὁ θῆλυς φθόγγος διὰ τῆς λελυμένης τῶν ᾠδῶν ἁρμονίας συνεισάγει ἑαυτῷ ἐπὶ τὴν καρδίαν τὰ πάθη, ἐντεῦθεν ἡ ὄψις οἷόν τι μηχάνημα πολεμικὸν τοῖς ὀφθαλμοῖς τοῦ ταῖς ᾠδαῖς προδια λυθέντος ἐμπίπτουσα τὴν ψυχὴν καταστρέφεται. στρατηγὸς δὲ τῆς παρατάξεως ταύτης ὁ οἶνος γίνεται, ὥσπερ τις πονηρὸς τοξότης διπλοῖς βέλεσι κατατοξεύων τὸν ἄνθρωπον ἐπί τε τὴν ἀκοὴν καὶ τὴν ὄψιν τὰς τῆς ἡδονῆς εὐθύνων ἀκίδας· βέλος γὰρ γίνεται τῆς μὲν ἀκοῆς ἡ ᾠδή, τῆς δὲ ὄψεως τὸ φαινόμενον. οὐ γὰρ ψιλὸν ὄνομα τῶν οἰνοχόων ἐστίν, ἀλλ' ἐκ τοῦ ἔργου πάντως ἡ ἐπωνυμία γίνεται. ὅταν τοίνυν 5.348 ἐγχέηται μὲν ἀφειδῶς τοῖς συμπόταις ὁ ἄκρατος, ὑπηρετῇ δὲ τῇ τοιαύτῃ διακονίᾳ νεότης εἰς κάλλος ἐξησκημένη ἢ παίδων διὰ τοῦ κόσμου θηλυνομένων ἢ καὶ αὐτοῦ τοῦ θήλεος γένους ἀναστρεφομένου τῷ συμποσίῳ καὶ ταῖς φιλοτησίαις τὸν ἀπρεπῆ φλογμὸν συνεγχέοντος, εἰς τί ποτε εἰκὸς τελευτῆσαι